Kwan Sau-mei and a friend have already done their time for switching drivers
Actress Suki Kwan Sau-mei and a male friend received 14-day jail sentences yesterday for switching seats after a car crash, but were freed immediately since they had already served the time in custody.
Eastern Court magistrate Allan Wyeth told the pair that 'as short and sharp a sentence as the clang of the prison gate' was appropriate to mark the seriousness of the offences and the unusual circumstances of the case.
Kwan, 37, a former Miss Hong Kong contestant in the 1980s, sighed with relief and broke into tears after Mr Wyeth ordered her immediate release. Outside court, Kwan said she felt relieved but refused to say whether she would appeal. 'I just want to go home now and I truly thank my friends for their support,' Kwan said.
Many of her celebrity friends, who filled the court to capacity to show their support, said they were happy with the sentence. Among them was actor Tony Leung Ka-fai.
Kwan and her friend, Kevin Wong Chi-chung, 34, a finance analyst, were found guilty of a charge of conspiring to pervert the course of public justice, which they both denied. Kwan had earlier pleaded guilty to drink-driving and another count of careless driving.